Submit an Academic Petition or Appeal

Petition Letter: Dear Dr. Stephenson,

My name is Zoe Kane, and I am currently entering my fourth year studying Biology at Queens University. I am writing to you to appeal for a Credit Standing for MATH121, PHYS117 and BIOL243.

During my first and second years at university, I faced a number of challenges in my personal life that hindered my ability to reach my full academic potential as a student. My circumstance began before entering my first year of university. My parents underwent a rather harsh separation (documentation provided), which impacted all aspects of my family and personal life. In 2017, my parents moved into individual houses (documentation provided), and I moved into university residence. Moving both into a new home with my family and a new residence created an incredibly overwhelming feeling of instability and lack of support. Following these events, my mental health symptoms started progressing, and my mental health started declining significantly during my first year of university.

The anxiety came to me first - I have always been an anxious person and have been diagnosed with anxiety disorders previously (documentation provided), though I have never felt any anxiety to this magnitude before. I would often wake up in panic attacks and have extreme bouts of anxiety in lectures and classroom settings. It was of no help that I was a new student in a new and unknown environment, trying to get used to university culture. I felt as though the university was too overwhelming for me, and I was just not cut out for it. As the fall semester progressed, I started going into 6-10 week periods of major depressive episodes. I would not go to class, I would not go to the dining room, I sincerely would not move from my room in residence. I can¿¿t describe to you the dark place I was in during this period of time, but to give you an understanding, I will show you a quote that somewhat encompasses my feelings- ¿¿Depression is being colorblind and constantly told how colourful the world is.¿- Atticus Poetry. That was it, my world was colourless, and I lost hope of ever seeing the colour again. I essentially gave up, stopped trying to do my best in all my courses, removed myself from social situations, and let my depression and anxiety swallow me whole. As a result, I did extremely poorly in my first-year courses. I have always been a straight-A student who used to get upset over getting a B in a class. However, during this time, I did not care about my academic future as I doubted the future entirely.

My mental illness continued until I finally decided I needed to get some help during the middle of my second year of university. I reached out to the Queens Student Wellness services and began seeing doctors, specialists and therapists (documentation provided). The fantastic health care staff at Queens supported me, aided me in diagnosing my mental illness, and led me onto the right track for recovery. Now, I am on medications and have the support I need to function as the happy self I used to be. I am sure you can see from my transcript that the second I started getting help (around the second term of second year), my grades began rising drastically. I went from getting D¿¿s and C¿¿s in my first year and first term of the second year, to getting nearly straight A¿¿s in my second term of the second year and my third year. I feel as though I have grown so much as a person, and I am trying to leave the person I was in first year behind me; however, the grades on my transcript remind me of these dark times, and my failure as a student. My cumulative GPA has dropped significantly due to my marks during first year, especially from the marks I received in Statistics, Physics and Math. Statistics, Physics and Math have never been my strong suit, and at the time, I did not have the energy needed to put in the required amount of work and practice to achieve a higher grade. I feel as though my marks do not nearly represent who I am and my abilities as a student, and this is the reason I am asking you to consider me for an appeal for Credit Standing.

Moving forward, I am going to continue taking my medications and seeking psychiatric help when necessary. I feel as though I am in a great place in my life, and I have so much potential as a student and as an individual. I plan to complete my Bachelor of Science (Honors) degree and continue to be involved in the Queens community.

I sincerely hope that this letter of appeal for a Credit Standing shows that I am dedicated to being a successful student at Queens University. I only ask that you do not use only my past as a measure for my success in the future. I have taken many positive steps over the past year to stay healthy mentally, and I genuinely believe that I am deserving of this Credit Standing.

Thank you for your time and best regards.
Zoe Kane (20061775)

Documentation attached:

¿¿ Letter from Holly Kane (my Mother)
¿¿ A previous letter from Dr. Rachel Gropper- A psychologist who helped me through my parent's separation
¿¿ Reporting letter on the sale of my family home
¿¿ Copy of my parent¿¿s Separation Agreement
¿¿ Letter from Dr. Borins